


Once is Too Many

by The3rdTrumpeteer



Series: Refuge and Remedies [12]
Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: A character study of sorts, Angst, Gen, headcanons galore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 10:13:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15410688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The3rdTrumpeteer/pseuds/The3rdTrumpeteer
Summary: Specs has only been in the Refuge once.





	Once is Too Many

Specs has only been in the Refuge once. When he was younger, stupider, he didn’t steal quietly enough, and he didn’t run fast enough, and he found himself in the one place his older brother warned him about every day. He was in that place for three weeks, and when he was released, he was a little quieter, a little more wary. He got back to his family’s small apartment to find that his brother was dead and his father was drinking. Specs ran after that, and this time he was fast enough.

Specs has only been in the Refuge once, but he visits there often. His friend Jack--young, stupid, impulsive Jack--is caught more often than not, and the warden of the place seems to hate him the most. Specs visits with food and bandages and the occasional blanket, as Jack seems to always be giving his away to another kid. Specs hates that there is a new bruise on Jack’s face every time he visits, and he hates the hollowness of his friend’s cheeks and the emptiness of his eyes when he inevitably returns to the lodging house after another daring escape. Specs teaches Jack to be quieter, faster. Safer.

Specs has only been in the Refuge once, but he has come close to being caught again too many times. Sometimes Crutchie gets sick, or Romeo hasn’t eaten in two days, or the soles of Race’s shoes wear right through and leave blisters on his feet. Specs can’t bear to see his friends’ pain, and so there’s only one thing to do. He still has the scar on his cheek from a cop’s switchblade that came a little too close during a chase.

Specs has only been in the Refuge once, but the bulls appear and the chaos begins, he fears he’s about to see the inside of that wretched place again. He can’t go back, and so he runs. He flees the square, and so does everyone else, and soon they are back in the lodging house and there is so much to do. Les is still crying and clutching his arm. Race’s eye is already blackened. Davey’s face is still bleeding. There is so much to do, and Specs feels overwhelmed.

Specs has only been in the Refuge once, and he has never felt more hope and fear arise as when he climbs the fire escape and sees Crutchie through the barred window. Stubborn, smart, brave Crutchie sitting on the floor with a black eye and a slashed arm and a lost expression on his face. His crutch is beside him, and even from a distance, Specs can see that the wood is cracked.

Specs has only been in the Refuge once, but it feels like he has been in there a thousand times.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr: @poorguysheadisdoingwhatnow


End file.
